Nahid Azarian Nassabi
Last seen June 19, 1984El Toro (now Lake Forest)
When Nahid “Nina” Azarian didn't come in to work at a Laguna Hills Mall clothing store in June 1984, a coworker went to her El Toro apartment. The front door was unlocked and the apartment was in disarray. The next day, her separated husband sent their two young children to Colombia. Nahid has not been seen since, and the Sheriff's Department classifies her disappearance as suspicious.
- Suspicious circumstances
- Mother
- Laguna Hills Mall
- Case typeLong-term missing
- Key dateLast seen June 19, 1984
- WhereSouth Orange County
- Unanswered for42 years
- PersonNahid
Nahid’s story
Nahid Azarian Nassabi, known to friends as Nina, was 29 and lived in El Toro, now Lake Forest, with her young son and daughter. She had separated from her husband and worked at a clothing store in the Laguna Hills Mall. In June 1984 she missed work and couldn’t be reached. A worried coworker went to her apartment and found the front door unlocked and the place in disarray. Nahid has not been seen or heard from since. [1]
The Sheriff’s Department classifies her disappearance as “suspicious circumstances.” [1]
Who Nahid was
Nahid was born on May 3, 1955, and was of Iranian background. She was 5’4”, about 120 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Her legal surname appears in federal records as Nassabi, with Azarian as a middle name. She also used the names Nina and Nancy. [1][4]
What happened
Nahid was last seen on June 19, 1984. When she failed to show up for work the next day and didn’t answer her phone, a friend from the store went to check on her. Finding the door unlocked and the apartment disordered, the friend called the authorities. [1][2][4]
The official account adds one more fact: the day after Nahid disappeared, her children were sent to Colombia by their father. The public record says nothing more about that, or about whether it was examined in the investigation. [1]
Where it happened
- El Toro, 1984. A growing unincorporated community in the Saddleback Valley, later incorporated as Lake Forest. Nahid’s apartment address hasn’t been published.
- Laguna Hills Mall. Her workplace, a short drive away. The store’s name hasn’t been made public.
What investigators have said
The Sheriff’s Department lists the case as a missing person with suspicious circumstances and asks anyone with information to come forward. No clothing description has ever been released, and the federal NamUs record lists no distinguishing features, dental information or DNA status. [1][4]
Where accounts differ
- The date. The Sheriff’s bulletin gives June 20, 1984 as the last-seen date. The state and federal databases give June 19, the day before she missed work. June 20 is most likely the date she was reported missing. [1][2][3][4]
Open questions
- Who last saw Nahid on June 19, and where?
- What does “disarray” mean here: signs of a struggle, a search, or a hurried departure?
- Which store did she work at, and who were her coworkers?
What you can do
- If you knew Nahid or Nina in El Toro or at the Laguna Hills Mall in 1984, or worked at its clothing stores, contact the cold case team.
- Search every name. Records may be filed under Azarian, Nassabi, Azaria, Nina or Nancy.
- Research: a 1984 Laguna Hills Mall store directory could identify her employer. The Register and Saddleback Valley News for late June and July 1984, and Persian-language Southern California publications of that year, may hold appeals.
Places in Nahid's story
All locations are approximate and drawn from published descriptions. Circles show how precise each one is. Exact addresses are deliberately not shown. Please respect private property.
- Last seen
- Other place
Last seen · city or town only
El Toro (now Lake Forest)
Her apartment, found unlocked and in disarray. Exact address not published.
Other place · within a few blocks
Laguna Hills Mall
She worked at a clothing store here.
Nahid's timeline
- Confirmed
- Reported by one source
- Disputed
Nahid is born.
Nahid is last seen.
She misses work and can't be reached by phone. A coworker and friend goes to her apartment, finds the front door unlocked and the apartment in disarray, and reports her missing.
Her separated husband sends their young son and daughter to Colombia.
OCSD issues a public bulletin classifying the case as “suspicious circumstances.”
Her case is entered in NamUs, nearly 30 years later.
Sources
Numbers in the text point to these sources. Some newspaper archives need a library card or subscription; most public libraries give free access.
- 1.Missing person — suspicious circumstances: Azarian, Nahid (Nina) · Orange County Sheriff's Department bulletin, Feb. 27, 2013
- 2.Nahid Azarian Nassabi · California Department of Justice, Missing Persons
- 3.Nahid Azarian Nassabi · The Charley Project
- 4.Missing Person NamUs #MP23853 · NamUs (U.S. Department of Justice)
Page last reviewed . The investigating agency's own statements take precedence over anything here.
